TUMWATER — Defense?
Rochester and Ilwaco put on a ridiculous offensive show in the first half here Friday night, with the Fishermen getting the final breaks in an 87-79 District IV 1A Boys Basketball Tournament win here at Black Hills High School.
The teams combined for 98 first-half points, and the SWW 1A League’s leading scorers — Rochester’s Jared Burkhardt from the Evergreen, and Ilwaco’s Karl Oman from the Trico — gave fans their money’s worth. Burkhardt scored 32 in the first 16 minutes and finished with 36, while Oman had 25 in the first half and finished with 43.
“It was unbelievable,” Rochester coach Andrew Kernutt said. “I haven’t seen a first half like that, ever, in a high school game from two players.”
Burkhardt hit seven 3-pointers in the contest — including five in the second quarter — while Oman hit four treys in the first half, but got most of his points on drives to lane finished with short jumpers, Kernutt said.
“It was just back and forth, driving up and shooting, and the ball dropping,” the coach added. “It’s one of those games that’s exciting to coach, but I almost wanted to be a spectator.”
Nick Schultz added a season-high 15 for the Warriors, and Tyler McLemore scored 10 and dished out six assists, with a pair of steals.
Rochester (10-10) led 51-47 at the intermission, but foul trouble caught up with the Warriors in the fourth quarter. The Fisherman shot 27 of 33 from the stripe for the game and attempted 18 free throws in the final frame — including one on a technical foul assessed to their coach.
“It was a bonehead mistake,” Kernutt explained.
It was the final game for seniors Burkhardt, Josh Monette and midseason transfer Mike Kent.
“We went out fighting,” Kernutt said. “The kids went out playing hard.”
Notes: Burkhardt shot 12 of 23 from the floor in the game. ... Ilwaco will play Montesano on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Kelso.
Logger Defense Chops Down Montesano
TUMWATER — If defense wins championships then Onalaska’s performance here on Friday showed its ready to take home the District IV 1A Boys Basketball trophy.
The Logger defense stifled the Montesano as they cruised to a 57-22 semifinal win snapping the Bulldogs seven game winning streak.
A dismal shooting performance didn’t help Montesano’s cause, either, as it was held to just 9 of 47 shooting from the field and hit a meager 2 of 10 from the charity stripe.
The Bulldogs couldn’t muster more than single digits in any quarter and didn’t have one player reach double digits in scoring.
“I thought we played outstanding defense,” said Onalaska coach Dennis Bower. “The game was practically over at halftime.”
Ony held a 32-12 lead at intermission holding the Bulldogs to just 4 second-quarter points. The Loggers went on to hold Montesano to 10 second-half points in the semifinal rout.
“Our guys came out focused. They knew a a state entry was on the line,” said Bower. “When you hold a team to 22 points in a district semifinal it speaks for itself.”
Cody Naillon scored a game-high 16 points, while Dalton Ritchey and Eddie Miles scored 12 apiece. Ritchey also led the Loggers with nine rebounds and Jeff Swett grabbed eight.
The Loggers shot 21 of 43 from the field as they had their way with the Montesano defense.
“We shot really well tonight and did a good job of getting to the rim,” said Bowers.
With their ticket punched to the State 1A Basketball Tournament in Yakima the Loggers now await Toledo in the District IV championship next Saturday in Chehalis at 8 p.m.
Indians Sneak By Stevenson
KELSO — A 23-point Toledo fourth quarter was the difference in a District IV 1A semifinals clash with Stevenson, as the Indians pulled away with a 56-52 win here Friday night.
The Bulldogs had a 1-point advantage through three quarters of play, before an 18-point fourth sent them into the losers bracket, and solidified Toledo’s berth to the state tournament.
“It was an intense game,” Indians coach Scott Merzoian said. “I think the kids felt a lot of pressure comin’ out to this winner to state game.”
D.J. Herbert led the way for the Indians, scoring 15 points.
“He hit a huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter with about a minute left that had the game tied,” Merzoian said. “He shot with confidence, and that was just a huge momentum change.”
Other Toledo notables were Joe Jordan, who had 13 points and eight rebounds, David Wallace scored 10 and Keefer Askin tallied 9 points.
The Indians were outscored 12-8 in the first quarter, before coming out on top 12-9 in the second and tying 13-all in the third.
“We turned the ball over a little too much the first quarter,” Merzoian said, “but I was really proud of the kids for coming back.”
Merzoian couldn’t give enough credit to his team’s defense in the game.
“Stevenson’s been known to put the ball in the hole,” he said. “They’re used to scorin 70-80 a game.”
Toledo, 16-6 overall, now plays SWW 1A League opponent Onalaska next Saturday for the District IV title.
